Two years ago, Bryan Nurnberger, part of a growing wave of social entrepreneurs, found himself faced with a vexing problem.

His nonprofit, Simply Smiles, which is based in Norwalk and dedicated to assisting poor communities, had recently gotten into the coffee business, importing and selling fair-trade coffee from Mexico as part of a pilot program to generate money for a struggling community of indigenous coffee farmers in Oaxaca, Mexico.

To his surprise, the coffee, which was sold at public engagements and fundraisers as well as on his organization's website, saw brisk sales. By year end, he had sold 8,000 bags. It was then that his accountant said he might have a problem.

According to the IRS, nonprofits that engage in business activity must prove that the activity is "substantially related" to their mission or else pay taxes on their income from it. Moreover, too much income from unrelated business activity can jeopardize an organization's 501(c)(3) status.

He looked into incorporating the coffee-selling side of his charity. But the mission statement that defined for-profit corporations, that of maximizing profit and shareholder value, turned him off.

"I didn't want to be part of that club," said the former history and special-education teacher. "We had a completely different end, which was to support people."

Nurnberger eventually decided to form a benefit corporation, also known as a B Corp. Unlike traditional corporations, B Corps are businesses that not only are driven by profit, but to devoting all or a portion of their bottom line to social and environmental causes.

But to his dismay, he had to register his company, named Simply Smiles Products, in New York to do so. Twenty states have passed laws recognizing B Corps since the category was introduced in 2010, but Connecticut is not among them.

That may change this year.

On Tuesday, Gov. Dannel Malloy announced his backing for a bill to establish B Corps as a new legal business entity.

"By creating a new corporate entity -- the benefit corporation -- Connecticut entrepreneurs can start businesses that compete in the private sector while also working to solve the toughest social and economic problems that our communities face," Malloy said in a news release. "This legislation will help ensure that social entrepreneurs create benefit corporations and jobs here in Connecticut, and encourage a new generation of social entrepreneurs dedicated to improving our communities and our state."

According to Erik Trojian, a director of policy at B Lab, which promotes B Corps, the move makes perfect sense within a free-market economy. Without access to B Corp status, social entrepreneurs who want to grow their companies by raising money from investors face a daunting risk: shareholders who can sue them for not hewing to the legal mission of corporations. (An alternative is to establish a limited liability company, but those, he said, are often not attractive to investors.)

"If I can only do one thing and that one thing is to maximize profit, that's overly regulated," said Trojian, who was among those who this week testified in support of the bill in Connecticut. "It's not allowing entrepreneurs to come up with great ideas."

In addition to advocating for legislation, Trojian's organization offers to certify companies as B Corps, a non-legal designation akin to a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

To date, B Lab has certified 922 B Corps across the globe, 680 of which are in the U.S.

States that do not legally recognize B Corps run the risk of losing them to those that do.

"B Corps will tend to incorporate where they are domiciled. They think more locally," Trojian said.

The resulting flight of B Corps often translates into both the loss of much-needed jobs as well as tax revenue.

In Connecticut, the effort to get B Corps legally recognized is being spearheaded by Social Enterprise Trust, a nonprofit also known as ReSET. This year marks the third attempt to get the bill passed. The initial bill, introduced two years ago, proposed establishing a social enterprise business, one of the various hybrid categories that exist for socially conscious companies. But at the time, the Connecticut Bar Association raised some technical issues, prompting ReSET policy staff members to do more research.

What they have come up with is a stronger version of the statute, argued Kate Emery, the founder and CEO of ReSET. Among states that currently permit B Corps status, Connecticut would be the only state to offer applicants the option of having a protection clause, which would ensure a B Corp always retains that status.

In other states, she said, "If I were to sell a majority of my shares, the shareholders could undo the benefit corporation. I wanted to lock it in."

Emery comes to the cause informed by her own personal experience. Over the last decade, she has worked to meticulously change the bylaws of her own company, The Walker Group, which provides technology services to mid-size companies across the Northeast, so that it reflects her moral concerns. Among the edicts is that the company's profit is equally divided: one-third to the community, one-third to employees and one-third to shareholders.

ReSET has identified about 30 social entrepreneurs in the state who are said to be interested in forming B Corps.

Emery said she is hopeful that the legislation will pass this year when the General Assembly convenes next month. The biggest work thus far has been clearing up confusion about what B Corps are. But once lawmakers are made to understand the bill's purpose, she said, they embrace it.

"What's not to love?" she said. "It's businesses that are creating jobs and solving community problems."